Licenses for illegals is an attack on your own citizenship

"Some of the many undocumented communities have been patiently waiting, pushing, organizing and preparing for the next few weeks. As I said, the time is now." - State Senator Nellie Pou

What she means is lawmakers in favor of granting driver licenses to illegals are in a 'lame duck' legislative session now, after the elections. These lawmakers said they would wait until after the election to push through this controversial legislation because they didn't want the outrage costing them their seats at the polls.

The time is now.

Pou says the reality is illegal immigrants are driving anyway. To me this only shows their willingness to break more than immigration law. According to a study out last year by NJ Policy Perspective, there are more than 466,000 illegal immigrants of driving age in our state. To me this only shows how deep our illegal immigration problem is, not the need to reward those who break the law.

Some accuse me of being racist because I don't believe in allowing licenses for the undocumented. It has nothing to do with race. It has to do with following rules. The more we say rules don't matter, the more we say citizenship itself doesn't matter and the less being a citizen means.

I'm not willing to render citizenship of the greatest nation on earth meaningless. Others are.

When we allowed in-state tuition to state schools like Rutgers to people who are in the country illegally, yet make a U.S. citizen living in New Hope, Pa. pay the doubly-expensive out-of-state tuition, citizenship is meaningless.

When we take millions of dollars a year specially ear-marked for the undocumented and offer them free legal help in fighting their deportations, citizenship is meaningless.

When we offer financial aid to illegals to attend college instead of marginally raising the qualifying family income for U.S. citizens, citizenship is meaningless.

Now this.

If you're still not on board, consider something. New Jersey had a long history of suspending a U.S. citizen's driver license automatically for non-payment of child support before there was even a hearing. (That was rectified as of this year, but even then if it's found to be willful non-payment the license may then still be suspended) Something that has absolutely nothing to do with driving. Yet for violation of immigration law we're going to reward illegals with a driver license?

Part of the problem with issuing these driver licenses to illegals is that it makes it increasingly easier to never get right with the law. How is this fair to legal immigrants who put in the effort, put in the time, went through proper channels and stood in line so to speak? Illegals cut ahead of them in that line and are being bestowed with perks.

My position on licenses for illegals has nothing to do with making the roads safer or bringing in $20 million extra dollars to MVC or anything else. It has everything to do with what's right and wrong.

This is wrong. If you care about this, you need to contact your legislators and your governor and let them know. Email them, voicemail them, and tell them you're strongly opposed.

Licenses for illegals is an attack on your own citizenship (Opinion)